# Freezing Cuban Cigars Safely



## TonyBrooklyn

Freezing Cuban Cigars Safely 

Like the title says what is safe what is not here is what i have learned over the years.

The fridge step is a waste of time.
Bagging is a waste of time.
I used to triple bag i went down to double then to single.
Each time i have noticed absolutely no ill effects.
Five days in the freezer in original box!



This is the finished product smokes like a dream. Also i have found doing it this way, much of the excess humidity is removed.



Have done this with the last five shipments so i know it works.
I would never post anything like this unless i knew first hand it was for real.
Would love to hear your thoughts both believers and non believers.:vs_cool:


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## knilas

Ditching the bags seems logical. 
Do they go str8 from the freezer into the humi? Or what's the next step? 
5 days seems like a very long time. How did you arrive at this number? 

Thx Tony B.! 

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## bpegler

I think 5 days is a lot longer than you need to freeze them. The average household freezer runs around 0 F, -18 C. Here's the kill chart for tobacco beetles:










I have quit with the refrigerator step finally, but I still bag them.


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## TonyBrooklyn

knilas said:


> Ditching the bags seems logical.
> Do they go str8 from the freezer into the humi? Or what's the next step?
> 5 days seems like a very long time. How did you arrive at this number?
> 
> Thx Tony B.!
> 
> Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


:vs_cool:
Yes straight from the freezer to the humidor.
The old belief when i started this was. 
Three days if you take them out of box and bag them removing as much air as possible.
So it was common back then to add two more days for the box.
But after seeing Mister Peglers chart i can't help but think i am being a bit anal about the time in freezer.
Still i have had a beetle outbreak still scars for life :vs_mad:


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## TonyBrooklyn

bpegler said:


> I think 5 days is a lot longer than you need to freeze them. The average household freezer runs around 0 F, -18 C. Here's the kill chart for tobacco beetles:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I have quit with the refrigerator step finally, but I still bag them.


I'll make a deal with you you quit the bag. And i'll drop two days off the freeze time!:vs_laugh:
All Joking aside thanks for the chart! How long do you freeze for?:vs_cool:


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## bpegler

TonyBrooklyn said:


> I'll make a deal with you you quit the bag. And i'll drop two days off the freeze time!:vs_laugh:
> 
> All Joking aside thanks for the chart! How long do you freeze for?:vs_cool:


3 days in the freezer, which is still massive overkill. About the bags, keep in mind that a large percentage of my cigars are custom rolls. They're just wrapped in plastic, sometimes just a big baggie. No boxes. So I do worry about freezer burn. Also, I'm getting cigars that have a very high likelihood of beetle infestation.


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## TonyBrooklyn

bpegler said:


> 3 days in the freezer, which is still massive overkill. About the bags, keep in mind that a large percentage of my cigars are custom rolls. They're just wrapped in plastic, sometimes just a big baggie. No boxes. So I do worry about freezer burn. Also, I'm getting cigars that have a very high likelihood of beetle infestation.


Three days it is thanks bro!:vs_cool:


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## Bird-Dog

Love the chart. Great info if you're in a hurry. But, don't forget to add enough time for the cigars to get down to freezer temp.

I don't freeze export brands. Supposedly that is done at the factory level now. Never had a problem. But I do toss customs and such straight into the freezer when I get them. Usually forget about them and pull 'em out when I remember them 3 or 4 days later. Nice to know I can pull them out sooner, though.


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## Gummy Jones

without knowing the actual humidity of the cigars upon arrival, the fridge step makes sense to me in fear of the sudden freezing process being more likely to cause a wrapper to split. 

a day in the fridge, 3 in the freezer and then to the counter top is about where i am most comfortable. i do bag to keep a semi constant environment (at least before and after freezing and before storage).

i do not have much experience with freezing cubans but have frozen anything to be stored long term, regardless of source for a while now and have never had an issue.

i guess the better question is has anyone had an issue with any particular method.


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## OneStrangeOne

Been doing it like that for a couple of years now, I do 96 hrs, 4 days when they come out I wrap a towel around em for a couple hours till they come up to room temp and into the humi.


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## Gummy Jones

TonyBrooklyn said:


> Freezing Cuban Cigars Safely
> 
> Like the title says what is safe what is not here is what i have learned over the years.
> 
> The fridge step is a waste of time.
> Bagging is a waste of time.
> I used to triple bag i went down to double then to single.
> Each time i have noticed absolutely no ill effects.
> Five days in the freezer in original box!
> 
> 
> 
> This is the finished product smokes like a dream. Also i have found doing it this way, much of the excess humidity is removed.
> 
> 
> 
> Have done this with the last five shipments so i know it works.
> I would never post anything like this unless i knew first hand it was for real.
> Would love to hear your thoughts both believers and non believers.:vs_cool:


that wonky burn is CLEARLY the result of you not bagging them 
:wink2:


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## Sprouthog

I freeze everything upon arrival. 
Vacuum seal then straight into the freezer for 7 days or til I remember they're in there, overkill. I've used the chart.
Freezer to humidor then 2 months rest before putting them into the smoking rotation.


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## avitti

The only reason to use a bag when freezing is if you don't move them quickly into your humidor.
Condensation will build on the boxes even when moved to the fridge because of change of temps.

If i have enough room in the freezer i just thrown the package in right out of the mailman's hand.
If not enough room in freezer i'll take the boxes out of the package and play ice box tetris 
If i get 'caught' in the kitchen-having to do prep work, cooking or baking i'll wrap the frozen boxes i removed from freezer in a towel to absorb any condensation that will form--the warmer the kitchen the more condensation will form


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## Slowpokebill

If I'm reading the chart correctly; then freezing over night should more than do the job in a freezer that is near 0 degrees F. After inspection, I've always tossed boxes in a Foodsaver bag and left them in my deep freeze for a week. I guess you could call that over kill.


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## scott1256ca

I think that chart that Mr. Pegler posted is from a paper here
https://www.researchgate.net/public..._Lasioderma_serricorne_F_Coleoptera_Anobiidae
but I think there might be a misunderstanding as to what 100% mortality refers to.
I think it refers to 100% mortality of the eggs/larvae/beetles etc. used in that particular study. I don't think it is any kind of guarantee that there will be 100% mortality of all eggs/larvae/beetles etc. that would happen in any comparable situation. In the table below you see a column with 99% LT (lethal time) and in parenthesis is a range of time. If I understand it correctly, it could take up to 33.21 hrs to kill 99% of acclimated larvae at -10 C. I don't know if acclimated larvae applies to cigars. Apparently it does apply to Japanese tobacco used for cigarettes. But if my freezer only got down to -10C, I'd want to leave the cigars in there for at least 4 days. Most freezers are probably colder than -10 though, I think mine was -18C, but I know it was at least -15C.

Happy freezing!


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## Bird-Dog

My chart says incinerating them is 100% effective with zero time lag involved!

BTW, please raise your hand if you seen a live cigar beetle in a box of Cubans the last decade? I sure haven't.


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## harley33

I used to handle the cigars with kid gloves back in the early days but now I am lazy. If they came in a box, I remove them from the box and toss them in the deep freeze (assuming they are wrapped in something inside the cardboard shipping box). If they come in a soft side shipping bag they just go in the freezer as is. Usually 3 days unless I need to play Tetris to find a spot for them. Fingers crossed, never had an issue.



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## talisker10

Are regular production cc's frozen in Cuba these days or not?


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## Bird-Dog

talisker10 said:


> Are regular production cc's frozen in Cuba these days or not?


Excerpt from CCW:

_Freezing

In addition to fumigation, freezing of the finished cigars is used to kill the tobacco beetle Lasioderma serricorne.

Freezing of cigars commenced around early 2005. It is carried out in the Habanos main temperature and humidity controlled storage and distribution building. This, combined with fumigation, is intended to kill all eggs, insects, and lava within the tobacco.

Some regional distributors had their own freezing facilities, predating the Habanos plant.

https://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/cigar/production#Hand_Rolled_Cigars

_And from HSA's own website:

_Worst of all is tobacco weevil or lasioderma serricorne. It feasts on tobacco, perforates wrappers and renders cigars unsmokeable.

Thankfully infestations are rare but the best prevention is never to let the temperature in your humidor exceed 18°C.

The only solution is to put an infected box into a deep freeze and leave it there for a few days. This will kill the weevils and save the cigars that have not attracted their attention.

Since 2005 all Habanos have been frozen at the warehouse in Havana before the are release to the market, so this problem is rarer than it once was._

_http://www.habanos.com/en/el-mundo-del-habano/como-conservar-sus-habanos/_


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## bpegler

curmudgeonista said:


> My chart says incinerating them is 100% effective with zero time lag involved!
> 
> BTW, please raise your hand if you seen a live cigar beetle in a box of Cubans the last decade? I sure haven't.


I have. A box of Montecristo #3s. The lower section was crawling. This was around 2010 or 2011.

I also saw a humidor at a shop in Barbados. PSD4s in 3x5s with a live infestation.

So it's very rare, but it happens.

Also, who here has complete trust in any aspect of HSAs quality control?


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## TonyBrooklyn

talisker10 said:


> Are regular production cc's frozen in Cuba these days or not?


Supposed to be don't believe it! The only time i had an infestation was from a box of Partagas Salomones.
The LCDH release They were supposedly freezing and fumigating back then. These were considered top shelf SEEGARS at that time. Heck still are today imagine the treatment the plain Jane stock gets. Besides re infestation can occur after freezing. From warehouses vendors along the way etc. IMHO freezing is mandatory!:vs_cool:



bpegler said:


> I have. A box of Montecristo #3s. The lower section was crawling. This was around 2010 or 2011.
> 
> I also saw a humidor at a shop in Barbados. PSD4s in 3x5s with a live infestation.
> 
> So it's very rare, but it happens.
> 
> Also, who here has complete trust in any aspect of HSAs quality control?


THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:vs_whistle:


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## avitti

The warehouse that supposedly freezes all Havana cigars is a 90,000 sq.ft. warehouse in Guanabacoa, a suburb of Havana...It has capacity for 80 million cigars and has 4 massive freezers. Thing is there are only 20 workers or so. Supposedly when orders (master cases) are readied for shipping then is when they are supposedly put in the freezer..Don't know about everyone else but that;s a few more supposedlys that i'm willing to gamble on.
I'll freeze the cigars my self and that takes all the supposedly out of the equation.


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## SeanTheEvans

Never done it, never an issue - but it's nice to know that the process is now "approved" in easier and more convenient ways. Perhaps I'll get to it at some point...


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## WABOOM

I haven't done any freezing as of yet... but the moment I have a reason to, I will start.


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## TonyBrooklyn

SeanTheEvans said:


> Never done it, never an issue - but it's nice to know that the process is now "approved" in easier and more convenient ways. Perhaps I'll get to it at some point...





WABOOM said:


> I haven't done any freezing as of yet... but the moment I have a reason to, I will start.


Yeah i thought the same way got away with it for years when i got hit. Came home from a mini vacation I lost my whole stash.It was so disgusting i even tossed the humidor:vs_mad:


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## avitti

Waiting to freeze after you incur an infestation is like closing the barn door after the horses got loose,but to each their own........


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## WABOOM

TonyBrooklyn said:


> Yeah i thought the same way got away with it for years when i got hit. Came home from a mini vacation I lost my whole stash.It was so disgusting i even tossed the humidor:vs_mad:


This really has me thinking. I have a question: 
those of you who have had beetle problems... at what temperatures? has anyone had beetles start up at 70° ?


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## TonyBrooklyn

WABOOM said:


> This really has me thinking. I have a question:
> those of you who have had beetle problems... at what temperatures? has anyone had beetles start up at 70° ?


Don't know like i said i was away. But i will say this it was late September early October couldn't have been too hot.:surprise:


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## Gummy Jones

avitti said:


> The warehouse that supposedly freezes all Havana cigars is a 90,000 sq.ft. warehouse in Guanabacoa, a suburb of Havana...It has capacity for 80 million cigars and has 4 massive freezers. Thing is there are only 20 workers or so. Supposedly when orders (master cases) are readied for shipping then is when they are supposedly put in the freezer..Don't know about everyone else but that;s a few more supposedlys that i'm willing to gamble on.
> I'll freeze the cigars my self and that takes all the supposedly out of the equation.


not to mention the grey market and international storage with the potential for some of them to change hands many times over


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## Semper Noctem

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I wanted to ask what the collective thinks about freezing tubos. 


Remove cap, keep cap, remove cigar from tube, don't?


Thanks fellas!


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## TonyBrooklyn

Semper Noctem said:


> Sorry to revive an old thread, but I wanted to ask what the collective thinks about freezing tubos.
> 
> Remove cap, keep cap, remove cigar from tube, don't?
> 
> Thanks fellas!


I have frozen tubos that where first inspected then re sealed with no ill effects.:vs_cool:


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## Semper Noctem

TonyBrooklyn said:


> I have frozen tubos that where first inspected then re sealed with no ill effects.:vs_cool:


Thanks you, sir. I wasn't sure if they required special handling or not since the pressure inside the sealed tube will change with temperature drop.


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## TonyBrooklyn

Semper Noctem said:


> Thanks you, sir. I wasn't sure if they required special handling or not since the pressure inside the sealed tube will change with temperature drop.


My Pleasure!:smile2:


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## Cigary

Like the old E F Hutton commercials....when Tony and Bob speak about CC's....I listen.


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